Caritas mourns death of Sri Lanka church worker in bomb blast

21st April 2008 - Caritas Internationalis joins with Caritas Sri Lanka in condemning the death of Rev. Fr Karunaratnam, who was killed in a bomb blast on 20 April in the north of the country.
Fr Karunaratnam was the Chairman of the North East Secretariat on Human Rights, which aimed at recognizing and respecting the human rights of the minority Tamil community.
Fr Karunaratnam played a key role in promoting peace in the conflict between government troops and Tamil minority rebels.
Rev Fr. Damian Fernando, National Director of Caritas-Sri Lanka (SEDEC) said, “He was an example of courage, strength and humanity and will be missed by all. He also showed endless empathy towards refugees and displaced people while working tirelessly to improve their living standards.
“Over the past several months, violence has flared up in the country and innocent civilians have been the victims of this deteriorating situation and we at Caritas strongly condemn acts of violence against harmless human beings.
“The killing of Rev. Father Karunaratnam is a reminder to us all that a swift resolution to this partisan conflict has to be found and lasting peace achieved for all Sri Lankans and our entire country.”
This is the second killing of a clergy member in the recent months in Sri Lanka, and follows yet more violent deaths of church worker in 2008 in Pakistan and Iraq. Caritas partners have also receiving death threats this week in Colombia from militias for their work on peace building and development.
Caritas Secretary General Lesley-Anne Knight said, “The tragic death of Fr Karunaratnam increases the pressure on all sides in Sri Lanka to find a lasting solution to the conflict through dialogue and negotiation and the international community to support the process.
“That his death comes in the context of other killings and death threats of church workers is deeply troubling. All parties to a conflict must guarantee the protection of civilians. That the very people who are aiming to bring peace are losing their lives must underline the critical need to seek non-violent solutions throughout the world’s war zones.”